Bathtub safety pull



1954 1.. CARTWRIGHT rzrm.

BATHTUB SAFETY PULL 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 15, 1951 Lena 6. Cartwright William 000mm I N V EN TORS- 40% Fig? 6/70f/85 H. Camvrig/rf United States Patent BATHTUB SAFETY PULL Lena G. Cartwright, Fort Worth, William C. Cartwright, Midland, and Charles H. Cartwright, Fort Worth, Tex.

Application October 15, 1951, Serial No. 251,342

7 Claims. (Cl. 4-185) This invention relates to a safety device, the primary object of which is to allow a person to pull himself out of a bathtub and thus avoid the possibility of slippage and consequent injury.

An object of the invention is to provide a device of the character described which comprises vertically staggered pull members and novel means for attaching thelrln on a wall about the bathtub, preferably the front wa A further object is to provide safety pulls which are attractive, inexpensive, easy to attach to a finished wall or to the wall studs, and which are very efficient for their intended purposes.

These together with various ancillary objects and features of the invention which will later become apparent as the following description proceeds, are attained by the device, a preferred embodiment of which has been illustrated by way of example only in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the device shown attached on a wall;

Figure 2 is a front elevational view of one of the pull members;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary enlarged vertical sectional view through one form of the invention;

Figure 4 is a front elevational view of the device shown in Figure 3 and illustrating the manner of attachment to wall studs;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of'a detail of the attaching means of the form shown in Figure 3;

Figure 6 is an enlarged vertical sectional view through a second form of the invention; and

Figure 7 is a group enlarged vertical sectional view through a third form of the invention.

Specific reference is now made to the drawings. In the several views in the accompanying drawings and in the following specification reference characters indicate corresponding elements throughout.

The invention comprises pull members 10 secured by means to be described hereinafter in vertically staggered relation to a wall 12 about a bathtub 14 and since a i person must grasp the members to lift himself from the tub, they should be attached to the front wall. The pull members each include an arcuate elongated handle 14, fabricated of metal, plastic or similar strong attractive material, and terminally secures flexible ties or chains 16 and 18 each further secured by means 20 and 22 to the wall 12.

The means for anchoring or securing the chains to the wall shown in Figures 3, 4 and 5 will now be described. A U-shaped plate 24 is provided having spaced legs 26 and 28 connected by a web portion 30 carrying a threaded stem 32 lying in a plane generally parallel to the legs. The legs are adapted to straddle a stud 34 and be secured thereto by suitable screws 36 extending through recessed apertures 38 in the legs. The plate 24 is attached to appropriate studs before the lath 40, wall finish 42 and tile 44 are assembled thereon. As shown in the drawings, the plates 24 must be attached to properly spaced studs to obtain the correct suspension for the pull members 10 and therefore can be secured in properly spaced relation on a horizontal stud 46 secured between vertical spaced studs 48, or an additional vertical stud 50 may be secured between the vertical studs 48 for securing one of the plates 24, as shown particularly in Figure An aperture 52 is formed in the lath, wall finish and tile to receive the stem 32, the aperture being somewhat larger in diameter than the stem. A cover or cap 54 is provided preferably ornamental in shape and fabricated of metal, the same including an internally threaded bore 56 engaging the stem 32 and also an inwardly extending reduced shoulder 58 entering into a portion of the aperture 52 to get a tight fit. A gasket 60 may be interposed between the tile and the inner face of the cap or cover 54 and the latter rotatably mounts, by means of a doubled headed rod 62, an eye 64 engaging the free end of each chain as shown clearly in Figure 2.

The attaching means shown in Figure 6 is used for securing the pull members 10 directly to a tiled wall in an old house and avoids the necessity of removing the tile, wall finish and lath. This means comprises a disk 66 having external threads 68, the same being secured through the tile by means of conventional expansion bolts 70. A cover or cap 72 is provided having an annular wall section 74 which is internally threaded to engage the threaded periphery of the disk 66, a gasket 76 being interposed between the inner face of the cap and the tile. The cap rotatably mounts a double headed rod 62 carrying an eye 64 externally of the cap for engaging the free end of each chain.

The construction shown in Figure 7 is somewhat similar to that shown in Figure 3 and employs the same U- shaped plate 24 secured to the stud. An aperture 78 is formed in the lath, wall finish and tile to receive the threaded stem 32 and is of a diameter larger than that of the stem. A socket member 80 is provided having an internally threaded bore 82 engaging the stem, the inner annular portion of the socket member extending into the aperture 78. External threads 84 are provided on the socket member which partially extend externally of the tile and engage the internally threaded bore 86 of a cap 88. The bore 86 opens through both ends of the cap and the outer portion 90 of the socket member projects beyond the outer face of the cap and carries a suitable hook member 92 which engages the free end of each chain. Each of the securing means described hereinabove effectively anchors the pull members 10 in a manner to support substantial force applied to the pull members and with a minimum of weakening of the wall construction. Because the covers or caps may be of various ornamental designs and made of various materials the entire construction can be quite attractive.

In View of the foregoing description taken in con junction with the accompanying drawings it is believed that a clear understanding of the device will be quite apparent to those skilled in this art. A more detailed description is accordingly deemed unnecessary.

It is to be understood, however, that even though there is herein shown and described a preferred embodiment of the invention the same is susceptible to certain changes fully comprehended by the spirit of the invention as herein described and the scope of the appended claims.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new 1s:

1. A bathtub safety pull device comprising an elongated handle, fiexible members secured to the ends of said handle, and means for removably anchoring said flexible members on a wall adjacent a bathtub, said flexible members being chains and said means including a pair of anchors each including an externally threaded disk, expansion bolts carried by said disk and adapted to engage a wall, an internally threaded cap engaging said disk and an eye member rotatably mounted on said cap and engaging the free end of said chain.

2. A bathtub safety pull device comprising an elongated handle, flexible members secured to the ends of said handle, and means for removably anchoring said flexible members on a wall adjacent a bathtub, said flexible members being chains and said means including a pair of anchors each including a U-shaped bracket having legs and a web portion, said legs being adapted to receive a wall stud and including securing means, a threaded stem carried by the web portion and adapted to extend through an aperture in a wall, an internally threaded cap engaging said stern, and an eye member rotatably mounted on said cap and engaging the free end of said chain.

3. The combination of claim 2 wherein said cap includes a reduced inwardly extending shoulder adapted to enter a portion of the aperture provided in the wall.

4. A bathtub safety pull device comprising an elongated handle, flexible members secured to the ends of said handle, and means for removably anchoring said flexible members on a wall adjacent a bathtub, said flexible members being chains and said means including a pair of anchors each including a U-shaped. bracket having legs and a web portion, said legs being adapted to receive a wall stud and including securing means, a threaded stem carried by the web portion, and adapted to extend through an aperture of wider diameter provided in the wall, an internally threaded socket engaging said stem and extending beyond the wall, external threads on the extended portion of said socket member, a cover plate having an internally threaded bore therethrough engaging the external threads of said socket member, and a hook on the extended portion of said socket member engaging the free end of said chain.

5. A bathtub safety pull device comprising an elongated handle, flexible members secured at one set of their ends to the ends of said handle and means for securing the free ends of said flexible members to a wall, said means including a cap having a center bore opening into one surface thereof, an elongated member having an eye at one end disposed in said bore, the free end of one of said flexible members being secured to said eye, means retaining said elongated member within said bore.

6. A bathtub safety pull device comprising an elongated handle, flexible members secured at one set of their ends to the ends of said handle and means for securing the free ends of said flexible members to a wall, said means including a cap having a center bore opening into one surface thereof and a counterbore forming an internal shoulder, an elongated member having an eye at one end disposed in said bore, a flange on the other end of said elongated member and seating against said internal shoulder, the free end of one of said flexible members being secured to said eye.

7. A bathtub safety pull device comprising an elongated handle, flexible members secured at one set of their ends to the ends of said handle and means for securing the free ends of said flexible members to a wall, said means including a cap having a center bore opening into one surface thereof and a counterbore forming an internal shoulder, an elongated member having an eye at one end disposed in said bore, a flange on the other end of said elongated member and seating against said internal shoulder, the free end of one of said flexible members being secured to said eye, said cap having a second counterbore of a diameter greater than said first counterbore, said second counterbore opening into the surface of said cap opposite the surface into which said bore opens, the wall of said second counterbore being threaded and a threaded member adapted to project from a wall surface threaded into said second counterbore.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 362,969 Jacobus May 17, 1887 926,986 Hulbert July 6, 1909 2,242,461 Fisher May 20, 1941 2,269,420 Anderson Jan. 13, 1942 2,319,017 Tillman May 11, 1943 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 9,873 Switzerland Mar. 19, 1895 

